Nat'l Convention questions

[luvabunny]

I have never been to a national convention and have a few questions. I am hoping some of those here may have the experience and answers that I need.

This years show runs Oct 27-31, but it also says rabbits may be checked in until 6 pm Sat. Does that mean showing doesn't actually begin until Sunday, or does the show start Sat am?

Is there a schedule somewhere that give approx show times for certain breeds? I understand with the number of rabbits they can't be held to showing Dwarfs at 2:30 on Monday, but I would like to know what day at least the E-lops and Jersey Woolies will show. I can only attend Sat and Sun, so if those 2 don't show then, I may not go.

I saw somewhere that rabbits cannot be checked out until Wed evening. Does that mean if I purchase a rabbit at the show, that I can't take it home until the show is over? Would this just be for rabbits entered in the show, or in the building, or all rabbits attending?

If I attend, I will probably come with my disabled husband. At a regular show here in Okla, it is usually standing room only, with no real organization, cages everywhere, and much difficulty maneuvering around. Is the convention similar, or is it more organized, normally with walking around room and possibly a place to sit? Hubby has difficulty walking, especially in tight spaces, and cannot stand for long periods of time.

Do you have to be entered in the show to actually attend, or are onlookers allowed? I guess all of my other questions are probably moot, if non rabbit showers are kept out.

I was actually thinking about possibly bring a rabbit to show, just to say I had done it, until I found out that I could only go for the weekend, and rabbits wouldn't be released until Wed. I guess if you can't go for the entire time you can't show?

Anyway, those are my most pressing questions. I appreciate any experience and advice you can share.

 

[ZRabbits]

Why don't you reach out to the Secretary of the group who is putting on the Rabbit show? When I was interested in attending a show in my area (I didn't have any rabbits at that time) the Secretary of the ARBA sanctioned show was very helpful, sent me all kinds of info and was very helpful with questions I had.

Karen

 

[luvabunny]

I know most of those people are so busy...I was hoping someone here had been to a show and could answer my mostly mundane questions. I hate to bother someone with such trivial stuff.

 

[3mina]

It's not trivial to you is it? That is the secretary's job

 

[SatinsRule]

You can begin checking in rabbits on Thursday evening, and check-in continues through Saturday. Judging commences Sunday morning. The judging schedule by breed won't likely be posted until around check-in.

Check out will be on Wednesday. The time for it will be posted on the ARBA's convention website link as the schedule is set by the convention committee.

Conventions are usually hectic and crazy, and there generally isn't enough room for the lounge chairs and miniature living room setups which so many breeders are bent on creating at local shows these days. Last year in Indianapolis, there were over 21,000 rabbits entered, and if you can imagine that many rabbits inside the same building, you can appreciate the limited amount of space that will be available in the showroom. There will be a lounge area, but smart money says it won't be anywhere near the judging tables or rabbit coops. Onlookers and spectators are encouraged to attend as a means of promoting the fancy/hobby, but expect a Black Friday type atmosphere during the show. That many rabbits entered is bound to create one heckuva crowd.

You don't have to physically attend the convention to enter the rabbit, but you must make your own arrangements for getting the rabbit into and out of the showroom, and the most common method of it is by having other exhibitors who are attending it take care of it for you.

Here is a link to the convention website: http://www.heartland2012.com/ As information is firmed up, they will post and update it to the website. The key to make anything like this pan out is to plan ahead as much as possible. Unfortunately, information like judging times are in a constant state of flux to begin with, so that stuff is likely to not be posted until the last minute.<br /><br />__________ Sat Jul 21, 2012 2:55 am __________<br /><br />

It's not trivial to you is it? That is the secretary's job

There may be a lead secretary of the show, but there is a committee and a few subsommittees in charge of running a convention. It would be impossible for the show secretary to do it all by his or herself.

Info pertaining to the convention will be posted on the website referenced above.

 

[ZRabbits]

It's not trivial to you is it? That is the secretary's job

That's what I thought too. Thankfully the secretary who ran the ARBA show here was very helpful.

Karen

 

[luvabunny]

It sounds like the convention is just a super sized local show, and I've been to plenty of those. I was hoping for a little more organization to be able to take hubby. Also, if judging doesn't begin until Sun morning when I can only go for the weekend, and rabbits aren't released until Wed, when I have to be home Sun, it seems there is really no reason to attend.

 

[-HRanchito]

Yeah, I wish I could go since it's relatively close to me....but I can't take a whole week off work for it!

 

[Random Rabbit]

Convention is The Show of Shows. People from all over the Untied States and some foreign countries attend. The Top breeders of most breeds will be there with their Best stock entered. Even if one can only be there for one day ...to look and learn... it is a super chance to see up close some of the Best a breed has.

There is a tremendous amount of wheeling and dealing that goes on there... it Is chaotic...but it is an Organized chaos. There really is a method to it not simply random. All members of a breed are cooped together.. All jr bucks of a breed in a row...all jr does next to each other... and so on. When walking thru it makes it fairly easy to compare apples to apples , so to say.

There is a minimal amount of room for chairs... and there are persons with disabilities that need to get thru with motorized chairs... it is crowded... but most people are congenial.

The shopping for equipment is at its finest !!! ALL the equipment dealers are in one area... and one can comparison shop for most of one's rabbitry needs. ( including stuff one never thought of needing...lol)

True... rabbits Must remain cooped there for the whole show....or face losing the entire entry's placings. And they are extremely strict !! Theft is a huge concern... Thankfully it rarely happens. But security is enforced.

The days before the show actually begins... there is a lot of rabbits bought and sold... usually up until Sat night when the showroom is secured... rabbits can come in and out... so a lot of people do their buying then.

It anyone gets a chance to attend... i strongly suggest going just to experience it for one's self !!! :bunnyhop:

 

[Peach]

Planning on going next year Want to enter when I have rabbits with my surname

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

I'd like to go next year, too. But I'd like a few juniors to show and presently I lack a purebred buck, so..........yeah. :lol:

 

[luvabunny]

There's no possible way I could attend the PA show in 2013. I think I will go ahead and plan to attend at least the weekend. Hubby may have to stay home, or at the motel.
I have sent e-mails to a couple of rabbitries that I would like to have lineage from. We'll see what type of response I get, and that will help me decide completely on whether to go or not. If I could bring home a really nice bunny, that would definitely make the trip worthwhile.
I just hate not to attend, because the conventions aren't usually within driving distance of OKC.

 

[AnnClaire]

Yep, whether I have entries or not, I will be attending at least the weekend as I should be picking up a trio of Silver Foxes being transported from back east

 

[SatinsRule]

It sounds like the convention is just a super sized local show, and I've been to plenty of those. I was hoping for a little more organization to be able to take hubby. Also, if judging doesn't begin until Sun morning when I can only go for the weekend, and rabbits aren't released until Wed, when I have to be home Sun, it seems there is really no reason to attend.

It is organized, and that is far more than you can say for most local shows. It is a huge coop show, and you won't have to wade past scattered masses of carriers and portable living rooms to get around in the building, but rest assured that you won't be the only person there, either. Alot of people pass through those convention halls.

There are too many meetings, dinners and banquets involved with a convention to accomodate doing everything in a weekend. From a logistical standpoint, the planning and scheduling has to be done a certain way. The choice of whether or not to attend is going to affect everyone differently. I plan to be there, but the reality is that I may not be able to do so pending work situations which can arise without notice. That certainly happened to me last year with the Indy convention.

 

[luvabunny]

Well, it's not really a question of "if" something will arise at work. I flat out know there is no way I can be off the last 3 days of the month. I'm not even gonna ask. I process payrolls for a living, so if you get a check on Friday, on the last day of the month, or the first day of the month, I have to be there to send it thru. If I'm not there, you may not get paid, simple as that.

I've gotten 1 response from 1 breeder that I emailed so far. Nothing specific, mostly just a what are you looking for question. Patience....it's a virtue I run very short of quite regularly.

 

[SatinsRule]

I don't think you see anyone on here telling you that you should or need to take off work, but rather that the conventions have to be planned months in advance and cannot be altered and changed for anyone who has an issue. They have to adopt rules and hold everyone to them. Absent of that, there is no way a convention runs in any way that would resemble smooth or organized.

I totally understand where you're coming from. I work in outdoor sports retailing (hunting, fishing, archery, etc.) and the fall is a very difficult time to get any time off. As a result, I miss some very big show dates on the calendar each year because they fall at a time when I know I will be required to work. It is part of bringing home that paycheck you speak of. This year looks to be one of the rare times when I'll be able to attend, but the reality of sending entries in before the due date is that I'd be sending $13/rabbit entered, and do so knowing full well that I may lose every dime of it if a last-minute development causes me to have to work.

 

[luvabunny]

Well, I've been able to make a couple of contacts. Finally got in touch with a breeder I have been looking for for the past 6 months. Looking forward to meeting a couple more there during the weekend.
Luckily, the show is a fairly short 2-3 hour drive from my home. Considering taking just Wed off, if it turns out I purchase something that has been entered in the show and won't be released. Hoping to just pre-plan and purchase stock that has not been entered tho, and can be taken home on Sunday.
I'm really going to try to attend at least the weekend, just so I can say I've been to one.
Is there anything I should be sure to do, or see, or attend, or buy, while I am there? Is there anything that prior membership to ARBA, or a local club, or a specialty club will get me into that I might otherwise miss while I am there? Is the catalog worth the price, and is it essential for keeping track of what is going on, or is it just a bunch of ads?
If I'm only going to get to go for 2 days, I want to make sure I squeeze every drop out of everything I could possibly do while I am there.

 

[SatinsRule]

Evaluate several rabbits from several breeders before you buy. Don't just jump on the first one that strikes you as being what you're looking for. Failing that, you're very likely to commit to one or two, only to wish you had waited later on.

Also, understand that rabbits are going to be more expensive at national conventions. There are a lot of costs incurred by the breeder to not only enter them or coop them, but also in feeding and watering them for a haul like that. Most breeds on display will come there from around the country, and the breeder is simply trying to recoup part of the expense of coming there, not just unceremoniously jacking up prices because they feel like they can get away with.

 

[Random Rabbit]

just want to add one More thing.....
On the release day... most people strive to be "outtaThere" as quickly as possible. It is organized Chaos at its best.... If You are picking up rabbits...You might need to actually be there quite early...Before 8 bare minimum...
Unless You have cell phone connection with a seller ...then You will need a transfer paper to remove any animal from the show.
The carriers are sealed with a special clip and cannot be reopened Inside the show room. However... if You have connected with a specific seller... You might meet them in the parking lot and could pick up the animal there.

It will be a confusing, chaotic time !!!! We got to the showroom in Indy around 8:30AM... managed to miss the initial crush of exiting exhibitors... and actually were out of the room by 10AM. !! That is pretty good timing.

(hope i did not add to the confusion....)

 

[SatinsRule]

And if I might add to what RR said, you can shorten the loading/checkout time by removing as much of your extras (spray bottles, grooming equipment, rugs, spare feeders, water jugs, etc.) the evening before (in this case, Tuesday night). It's foolish to wait until the last minute to do anything in a crowd like that.